I’ve not had a lot to say recently, only posting about once a week, and I hope to remedy that in the near future. I’m still doing less reading than I’d like these days, but currently I’m finishing up Theodore Hamm’s book “The New Blue Media”, which has been pretty interesting. And as usual, I’m also listening to as much music as possible. So, here’s what I’ve been listening to lately.
I mentioned this album a few weeks ago just before it’s release, and it has been as good as I’d hoped it would be. Erelli has quickly become a favorite of mine. Here’s the opening track, “Hope Dies Last”:
I really liked Elbow’s previous effort, and their newest has not disappointed. I admit it didn’t “wow” me on first listen, but it’s one of those “better with each listen” type of albums and I’m loving it now. Here’s one of my early favorites, “Grounds for Divorce”:
The Stand Ins - Okkervil River
Thanks to a recent post by Matt, I decided to check out the newest release from Okkervil River. I wasn’t familiar with them at the time, but have really started to enjoy this one as well. Check out “Lost Coastlines”:
The Gabe Dixon Band - The Gabe Dixon Band
A recent eMusic find (thanks to Scott). It’s a solid piano-driven pop/rock album that occasionally brings to mind Billy Joel. This one also seems to get better with each listen. Here’s “Til You’re Gone”:
I’ve never been a huge Weezer fan, but have enjoyed this one for the most part. However, the best thing to come from this album may be the YouTube-inspired video for “Pork & Beans”, which I thought was clever and hilarious. And here it is:
Red Balloon - Sandra McCracken
I just downloaded this one yesterday, so I’m still getting a feel for it. But having been a fan of her last album, I can tell already this one is equally good. Check out this acoustic version of “The Tie That Binds”:
That’s it. That’s the list. More next month…
Okkervil River’s past two albums, the aforementioned The Stand Ins and The Stage Names were both great.
I was pretty disappointed in the new Weezer, at least outside of “Pork and Beans.” Hearing that song brought back memories of my freshman year at Harding back in 1996 listening to their underrated Pinkerton album over and over. It’s just too bad they couldn’t make a decent album to go along with that song this time around.
I’ve downloaded a few very good albums lately as well: Blue Mountain’s “Midnight in Mississippi” is a great piece of southern rock. The Gaslight Anthem’s “The ‘59 Sound” have a really cool Springsteen-like vibe that I’m really digging right now. Steve Earle’s son, Justin Townes Earle, put out a decent country-rock album in the vein of his dad’s early work, called “The Good Life.”
I always appreciate your suggestions and I’ll be sure to check some of these out when I get the chance.
October 2, 2008
yeah, I’ve got The Stage Names saved for later.
I like the Weezer album fine, but it’s not going to be on my year end list or anything. This is the first album of theirs I’ve bought since their very first album. I probably wouldn’t have bought it but found it for $5 on AmazonMP3 one weekend so I took a chance. I’ve heard good things about Pinkerton and am going to check that out at some point.
October 3, 2008
I like the Erelli and McCracken, at least in acoustic form. McCracken reminds of one of my wife’s favorite artists, Sara Groves.
October 6, 2008